It was the perfect way to wrap up a challenging 2021 season as Samuele Battistella soloed to glory in Bassano del Grappa after a stunning performance riding many kilometres at the front of the race.
The last race of the 2021 season took the riders over 200km from Venice to Bassano del Grappa with the second part of the race featuring a punchy circuit before crossing the finish line.
The Astana – Premier Tech riders showed an amazing display of teamwork, controlling the race from kilometre zero. As the race headed towards the last laps of the circuit, Samuele Battistella paid attention to the moves at the front which saw him lead the race with two other riders. Meanwhile Alexey Lutsenko took control of the pace in the chasing group.
At the front, Matteo Trentin touched wheels with Battistella and hit the deck, which meant Samuele Battistella led the race solo with less than 20 kilometres to go. The chasing group pushed hard trying to close the gap but Battistella put the hammer down and rode an absolute fantastic race to wrap up the season with a win, and was able to celebrate as he had a five-second gap over his opponents.
Teammate Alexey Lutsenko rounded out a great end of the season with sprinting to a top five finish.
I feel sorry for Trentin, we worked well together and when he touched my wheels we had only 15 kilometres left. I asked Martino (Giuseppe Martinelli) what we should do then and he said I should ride my rhythm up the climb towards the finish. From there on I never looked back and gave everything I had. It is my first victory as a professional and it feels like a rebirth as the season started not in the way I wanted as I struggled with health issues. The last days I worked for Alexey and today he worked for me as a return. The last kilometres were on home soil, I train here a lot and the fans were amazing and pushed me. Also, a huge thanks to my team, it was pure teamwork. The plan was that I start and Alexey would finish it off but at the end we changed and I went ahead with Luts also taking a top result. It is the perfect way to finish our season. – Samuele Battistella
What should I say, it has been a wonderful week. Already on Friday, when Lutsenko took the win, it was pure joy but today’s win was just perfect. Today, I bet on Battistella to win, even if we weren’t riding for him and he needed to work but you could see the previous days that he was getting stronger and stronger. I am so happy for the team and it was the best way to finish the season and also to take these emotions into the off season, already being motivated for the upcoming one. I hope this victory will be a good sign for 2022. – Giuseppe Martinelli
